January 11, 2016
Residential Sports Ramps
Open Online Opinion Survey Results
Research & Engagement Overview
The City undertook a number of research and engagement activities related to
residential sports ramps between August and December 2015:
 An open online survey was fielded from October 19 – December 14, 2015
using Fluid Surveys.
 Due to the opt-in and open method, results are qualitative in
nature and cannot be said to represent views of Calgarians.
 A statistically representative telephone survey of 504 Calgarians was fielded
between November 24th and December 6th 2015.
 This was a randomly sampled survey and results can be said to
represent views of Calgarians.
 The results of this survey will be published in a separate
comprehensive report and posted on the calgary.ca/sportsramps
websites.
 The Pop Up Engagement team visited Shaw Millennium Park, Chinook Park,
Kelvin Grove and Eagle Ridge (CKE) and Westside Recreation Centre to
engage with younger skateboarders and their parents.
 Open Houses were held in four quadrants of the City and the City Centre
between November 10th and November 18th.
 The feedback from the pop up engagement and open houses is
available at calgary.ca/sportsramps.
This report contains the results from the open online opinion survey
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Methodology
 The open online opinion survey link was posted on the calgary.ca/sportsramps
Engage page and the project page, and was communicated by a variety of
methods, including an online media buy targeting various online publications,
social media, the Federation of Calgary Communities “Get Engaged” e-newsletter,
The City of Calgary Planning Department’s “Dispatch” e-newsletter, two
advertisements in the Calgary Herald, an email to Community Association
representatives on a City of Calgary distribution list, advertisements on 107 City
Digital Display Units in City-owned facilities, and through the Calgary Association
of Skateboard Enthusiasts. Information was also distributed to Area Councillors.
 Results from open surveys such as this are a collection of opinions and
perceptions from interested or potentially affected citizens, and not a
statistically valid random sample of all Calgarians. There is no ability to
generalize the data. Results in this report should be interpreted with
caution.
 We received a total of 1931 completed responses. This exceeds the typical
participation levels for an open online survey. Typically, similar open online
surveys receive about 100-500 responses.
 Due to the large number of responses and the fact that sampling was not
statistically valid, a random sample of 200 completed responses was selected to
analyze themes in open text responses. This was done to minimize skew in the
data, and to produce results faster.
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Summary of Results
 Participants generally agreed that sports ramps should be allowed on residential
property, with some limitations.
 About one quarter of participants do not support sports ramps on residential
properties.
 Benefits mentioned included encouraging physical activity, giving younger
users a safer place to practice, and reducing use of roads, commercial
areas, and bigger skateparks.
 Drawbacks mentioned included noise, conflicts among neighbours, and
safety risks.
 Awareness of current regulations was low.
 About half of the participants thought there should be rules and standards to
regulate sports ramps, while the other half thought there should not.
 Reasons why regulations are needed included limiting the size, limiting the
noise, and protecting the safety of users.
 When asked why regulations aren’t needed, there was acknowledgement
that some rules are necessary but they shouldn’t be overly restrictive, and
comments about private property owners making their own choices, and
encouraging active lifestyles.
 More than half of the participants said that a development permit should not be
needed.
 Participants were generally comfortable with the proposed maximum size.
 Among those who weren’t, there was an approximate split between avid
users who felt the maximum was too small in some way, and property
owners who felt the maximum was too large to be acceptable.
 For most participants, the optimal placement on lots would be in the back yard,
unattached to houses or garages.
 Concern about noise was mentioned by about one quarter of participants.
 Participants expect sports ramp use to be governed by existing noise limits.
 Key noise concerns would be level of noise, continuous nature of noise, and
time of noise (specifically late at night).
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Question Results
A copy of the online questionnaire follows the question results. A summary of the
question results is included in the box text.
[Q9] Do you agree or disagree that sports ramps should be
allowed on residential property?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Strongly agree
65.9%
1139
Somewhat agree
8.2%
141
Somewhat disagree
2.9%
50
Strongly disagree
23.1%
399
Total Responses
1729
Participants generally agreed that sports ramps
should be allowed on residential property.
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[Q10] What do you think the main benefits of allowing sports
ramps on residential property might be?
Top 10 Themes
Encourage activity
Age appropriate for youth
Divert traffic from parks/streets/commercial areas
Build community/family
Develop skill
Safety
Do not support residential ramps
Fairness
Not enough skate parks/parks too far
Reduce crime
This question was optional. 1592 participants provided comments for this question.
A random sample of 200 responses was selected for textual analysis. The project team was able
to develop 10 themes from this text field that were frequently mentioned, and these are listed
in order of frequency. Multiple themes were possible from each response.
Most of the benefits mentioned were related to
encouraging activity, providing age appropriate
opportunities, and reducing congestion at
skateparks, on roads, or at commercial areas
and staying closer to home.
There were frequent mentions that some
participants were not in support of ramps.
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[Q11] What do you think the main drawback of allowing sports
ramps on residential property might be?
Top 10 Themes
Noise
Neighbour relationships
None
Safety
Poor visual appeal
Crowds/bad behaviour
Poor construction
Time of use
Property value
Damage
This question was optional. 1588 participants provided comments for this question.
A random sample of 200 responses was selected for textual analysis. The project team was able
to develop 10 themes from this text field that were frequently mentioned, and these are listed
in order of frequency. Multiple themes were possible from each response.
Most of the drawbacks mentioned were related
to noise, neighbor conflicts, and risks to safety.
There were frequent mentions that there were
no drawbacks.
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[Q3] Did you know, before taking this survey that The City of
Calgary has regulations for sports ramps on residential
properties?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Yes
45.7%
873
No
45.7%
873
Don’t know/Not sure
8.6%
165
Total Responses
1911
Participants were evenly divided on their
awareness of regulations for sports ramps on
residential properties.
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[Q4] Do you think the City should have rules and standards to
regulate sports ramps on residential properties?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Yes
47.1%
900
No
47.0%
898
Don’t know/Not sure
5.8%
111
Total Responses
1909
There was no clear preference for rules and
standards among participants - about half of
the participants thought there should be
regulations for sports ramps on residential
properties, and the other half thought there
shouldn’t be regulations.
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Why do you think the City should have standards to regulate sport
ramps on residential properties?
Top 10 Themes
Size control
Noise control
Safety
Ensuring balance of citizen needs
Time of use control
Visual appeal/property value
Construction control
Do not support residential ramps
Privacy control
Set a standard
This question was optional. 914 participants provided comments for this question.
A random sample of 200 responses was selected for textual analysis. The project team was able
to develop 10 themes from this text field that were frequently mentioned, and these are listed
in order of frequency. Multiple themes were possible from each response.
Most of the reasons mentioned were related to
size of ramps, noise related to ramp use, and
safety of ramp users.
There were frequent mentions that participants
were not in support of ramps.
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Why do you think the City should not have standards to regulate
sport ramps on residential properties?
Top 10 Themes
Should have some standards
Private property
Encourage kids/people to be active
Overly restrictive
Other sports/activities aren't regulated
Doesn't affect others negatively
Do not support residential ramps
Creativity
Safety
Negatively affects others
This question was optional. 1464 participants provided comments for this question.
A random sample of 200 responses was selected for textual analysis. The project team was able
to develop 10 themes from this text field that were frequently mentioned, and these are listed
in order of frequency. Multiple themes were possible from each response.
Most of the reasons mentioned were related to
being private property and encouraging
activity.
There were frequent mentions that there should
be some standards, and also that some
participants were not in support of ramps.
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[Q7] Do you agree or disagree that sports ramps on residential
properties should not require a development permit?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Strongly agree
49.3%
880
Somewhat agree
13.4%
239
Somewhat disagree
9.2%
165
Strongly disagree
28.1%
502
Total Responses
1786
Participants generally agreed that a
development permit should not be required
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[Q5] How appropriate do you think the proposed maximum size is
for sports ramps on residential properties?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Very appropriate
25.9%
463
Somewhat appropriate
32.4%
581
Somewhat inappropriate
14.3%
257
Very inappropriate
27.4%
490
Total Responses
1791
Participants were generally supportive of the
proposed maximum size of ramps.
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[Q6] Why is the proposed maximum size for sports ramps on
residential properties inappropriate?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Too large
33.1%
247
Too small
26.9%
201
Other
40.0%
299
Total Responses
747
Among those who didn’t agree with the size
maximums, there was division on what would
be better.
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If “Other”:
Top 8 Themes
Do not support residential ramps
Size should not be regulated
Depends on size of yard
Limits the challenge
Length is too short
Height restriction only
Width is too narrow
Should be no regulation
This question was optional. 275 participants provided comments for this question.
A random sample of 200 responses was selected for textual analysis. The project team was able
to develop 8 themes from this text field that were frequently mentioned, and these are listed in
order of frequency. Multiple themes were possible from each response.
There were frequent mentions that there should
be no regulation, and also that some participants
were not in support of ramps.
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[Q8] How appropriate do you think the following sports ramp
placements on lots would be?
While there is some appetite for various placements, most
participants are comfortable with ramps being placed in back
yards and not attached to houses, fences, or garages.
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[Q1] The City of Calgary regulates noise on residential properties.
This regulation sets maximum noise levels. The noise associated
with sport ramp activities is being reviewed by The City.
If the noise associated with sport ramp activities is within the
allowable noise limits, how concerned would you be if sports
ramps were allowed on residential properties?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Very concerned
21.1%
407
Somewhat concerned
5.0%
96
Not very concerned
10.4%
201
Not at all concerned
63.5%
1227
Total Responses
1931
Most participants were not concerned about
noise from sports ramps on residential
properties.
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[Q2] What do you think the main noise concerns related to
allowing sports ramps on residential property might be?
Top 9 Themes
Noise level
Continuous noise
Late night noise
Enforcement
Gatherings
Children/seniors
Material
Location in community
Lack of supervision
This question was optional. 460 participants provided comments for this question.
A random sample of 200 responses was selected for textual analysis. The project team was able
to develop 9 themes from this text field that were frequently mentioned, and these are listed in
order of frequency. Multiple themes were possible from each response.
Most of the noise concerns noted were related
to noise level, continuous nature of noise, and
timing of noise.
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[Q12] Who in your household currently participates in any
wheeled sports using sports ramps?
**Self-reported – may not reflect actual user demographics.**
500
400
300
200
100
0
500
400
300
200
100
0
299
133
179
231
167
218
145
68
Males
0-5
Males
6-9
Males
10-13
Males
14-17
Males
18-24
80
86
64
36
64
Males
25-34
Males
35-44
129
88
17
2
Males
45-54
Males
55-64
Males
65 +
22
8
2
Females Females Females Females Females Females Females Females Females Females
0-5
6-9
10-13
14-17
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 +
Males aged 0-5
133
Females aged 0-5
80
Males aged 6-9
179
Females aged 6-9
86
Males aged 10-13
167
Females aged 10-13
64
Males aged 14-17
145
Females aged 14-17
36
Males aged 18-24
231
Females aged 18-24
64
Males aged 25-34
299
Females aged 25-34
129
Males aged 35-44
218
Females aged 35-44
88
Males aged 45-54
68
Females aged 45-54
22
Males aged 55-64
17
Females aged 55-64
8
Males aged 65 +
2
Females aged 65 +
2
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[DEM1] How many people under the age of 18 live in your
household?
Number of people under the age of 18 living in
household
1000
800
600
560
369
400
255
105
200
21
9
4
5
0
0
1
2
3
Did not
mention
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[DEM2] Which of the following best describes your current home?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Single detached, semi-detached or
duplex home
82.4%
1328
Town home, or multi-residential
building
14.7%
237
Rural lot
2.9%
47
Total Responses
1612
[DEM3] Do you currently own or rent your residence?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Own
83.2%
1344
Rent
16.8%
272
Total Responses
1616
[DEM4] How long have you been a resident of Calgary?
Response
Chart
Percentage
Count
Less than a year
1.5%
24
1 to less than 5 years
6.2%
102
5 to less than 10 years
10.1%
166
10 to less than 15 years
12.3%
202
15 years or more
70.0%
1151
Total Responses
1645
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Appendix: Questionnaire
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Recreation on Residential Property Survey
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for taking a few minutes to provide your thoughts regarding recreation on private
property. This form should not take more than 10 minutes to complete and will remain available
until 4:00 PM on December 14, 2015. Please limit your submissions to one per household.
The personal information collected herein is authorized under Section 33(c) of the Freedom of Information & Protection of
Privacy Act, for the purpose of understanding citizens opinions related to recreation on private property. Your information
will not be used for any other purpose. Survey data will be analyzed in aggregate only and no respondents will be
personally identified. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding this collection, please send an email
to [email protected] or contact us by phone at 311 and a Research Coordinator will follow up with you.
Please note that the online survey is hosted by "Fluid Surveys" which is a web survey company owned by Survey Monkey
located in the USA. All responses to this survey will be stored and accessed in Canada. Fluid Surveys and Survey Monkey
are subject to U.S. laws, in particular, to the U.S. Patriot Act that allows authorities access to the records of internet
service providers. If you choose to participate in the survey you understand that your responses to the questions can be
accessed in the USA. The security and privacy policy for Fluid Surveys can be viewed at http://fluidsurveys.com. The
security and privacy policy for Survey Monkey can be viewed at http://www.surveymonkey.com.
Key Terms
Sports Ramps:
The Land Use Bylaw defines skateboard ramps (sports ramps) as a structure that is used to
provide a surface upon which an individual may use or operate a skateboard, bicycle, roller
skates or other similar devices. Sports ramps are all the structures (1 large or several small)
that fit and are used within a proposed maximum envelope (3D box) dimension of 1.5 m high x
5 m wide x 6 m long.
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NOISE
1. The City of Calgary regulates noise on residential properties. This regulation sets
maximum noise levels. The noise associated with sport ramp activities is being reviewed
by The City. If the noise associated with sport ramp activities is within the allowable
noise limits, how concerned would you be if sports ramps were allowed on residential
properties?
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
Not very concerned
Not at all concerned
2. If you are concerned, what do you think the main noise concerns related to allowing
sports ramps on residential property might be?
[OPEN ENDED]
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SIZE, PERMITING AND PLACING
3. Did you know, before taking this survey that The City of Calgary has regulations for
sports ramps on residential properties?
Yes
No
Don’t know/Not sure
4. Do you think the City should have rules and standards to regulate sports ramps on
residential properties?
Yes
No
Don’t know/Not sure
[ASK ONLY IF YES]
4.A
Why do you think the City should have standards to regulate sport ramps on residential
properties?
OPEN ENDED
[ASK ONLY IF NO]
4.B
Why do you think the City should not have standards to regulate sport ramps on
residential properties?
[OPEN ENDED]
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The proposed maximum size is 5’ high, 16’ wide and 20’ long.
5. How appropriate do you think the proposed maximum size is for sports ramps on
residential properties?
Very appropriate
Somewhat appropriate
Somewhat inappropriate
Very inappropriate
[ASK ONLY IF VERY OR SOMEWHAT INAPPROPRIATE]
6. Why is the proposed maximum size for sports ramps on residential properties
inappropriate?
Too large
Too small
Other __________
7. Do you agree or disagree that sports ramps on residential properties should not require
a development permit?
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
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[Show example placement images]
8. How appropriate do you think the following sports ramp placements on lots would be?
Front yard unattached to fence
Back yard unattached to fence
Side yard unattached to fence
Front yard attached to fence
Back yard attached to fence
Side yard attached to side fence
Attached to house
Attached to garage
Very appropriate
Somewhat appropriate
Somewhat inappropriate
Very inappropriate
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OVERALL OPINIONS
9. Do you agree or disagree that sports ramps should be allowed on residential property?
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
10. What do you think the main benefits of allowing sports ramps on residential property
might be?
[OPEN ENDED]
11. What do you think the main drawbacks of allowing sports ramps on residential property
might be?
[OPEN ENDED]
12. Who in your household currently participates in any wheeled sports using sports ramps?
Please indicate the number in each category.
Males aged 0-5
Females aged 0-5
Males aged 6-9
Females aged 6-9
Males aged 10-13
Females aged 10-13
Males aged 14-17
Females aged 14-17
Males aged 18-24
Females aged 18-24
Males aged 25-34
Females aged 25-34
Males aged 35-44
Females aged 35-44
Males aged 45-54
Females aged 45-54
Males aged 55-64
Females aged 55-64
Males aged 65 or above
Females aged 65 or above
Nobody in my household currently participates in any wheeled sports using sports ramps
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DEMOGRAPHICS
This last section is used to help categorize responses. Your responses will be kept
confidential.
DEM1. How many people under the age of 18 live in your household? (Optional)
[OPEN END, NUMBER FORMAT]
DEM2. Which of the following best describes your current home? (Optional)
Single detached, semi-detached or duplex home
Town home, or multi-residential building
Farm
Rural lot
DEM3. Do you currently own or rent your residence? (Optional)
Own
Rent
DEM4. How long have you been a resident of Calgary? (Optional)
Less than a year
1 to less than 5 years
5 to less than 10 years
10 to less than 15 years
15 years or more
Thank you for taking part in the survey! For more information, please visit
www.calgary.ca/sportsramps.
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